The fruit of Aradhana
RANA SIDDIQUI
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Sharmila Tagore is happy wearing many hats. In a freewheeling chat, she talks of various concerns, from film festivals to her upcoming film, "The Jewellery Box".
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Photo: Rajeev Bhatt
LOOKING BEYOND FLOWERS Sharmila Tagore says she is not scared of voicing her opinion on any issue
A new year was added to the life of Sharmila Tagore. She of dimpled charm, soothing voice. Many years after "Aradhana", she continues to reap the fruit of labour. Besides being the Chairperson of the Censor Board, she is a Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF spreading HIV awareness. The other day she turned 61 but had no time to cut the cake, to savour the moment with her family members. Of course, she is expected to be at more than one place at the same time! For instance, take the 36th India International Film Festival - IFFI - at Goa that concluded recently, which demanded undivided attention, but got only some moments. The festival too was labelled a damp squib by many. Be it shortcomings at the infrastructure level that included inadequate seating facilities, dominance of Bollywood posters, parallel screening of important films that made it impossible for visitors to watch the films of their choice, or repeat screening of popular films on the beachside; absence of bigger celebrities both at the national and international level, the choice of films, especially Hindi films...the list goes on. Well, that was one film festival. The films India sends to other film festivals also fail to touch the audiences.
"Iqbal", "Deewane Huye Paagal", "Parzania", etc. were screened at IFFI this year, and none of these could evoke the kind of response "Olga", the kick-off film from Brazil starring Camila Mogado, did. What's the reason?
"The jury sending films to any festival is democratic in nature. So was the case of IFFI too. It is not that the jury doesn't want to send good films there. But a little bit of lobbying and marketing at that level is completely unavoidable. It does happen, because every filmmaker wants his films to be screened in a grand festival of international stature."
The Government must choose knowledgeable people who keep abreast of both national and international developments when it comes to cinema viewing. For instance, the international audience cannot identify with our language and the way the protagonists of Indian commercial films suddenly break into song and dance. "The films we send often lack in content, which is further marred by the excess gloss that we excel at. Though I have heard good reviews about `Parzania' I would say that even a film like `Iqbal' doesn't match the international standards, though the content can be identified with. I don't want to sound unpatriotic by pointing out `Iqbal'. It's a suggestion to my colleagues in the film industry that they need to strengthen the storytelling part," feels Sharmila, who missed the festival because she was in Uganda, amid several "pending issues that needed immediate redressal."
She adds, "I was also to go to Kerala for a film festival. But there also I was offloaded as jury because `Antarmahal' was screened at the competition section." Incidentally, "Antarmahal" stars her daughter Soha.
Culture over content
A country-specific and culture-specific film often does not fetch win over great international audience. And hence films like "Paheli" have a lesser chance of touching people. Says Sharmila, "See Italian films like `All About My Mother' and `It is a Good Life', Iranian and Chinese films, they also have their country-specific dress code, mannerisms and venues but where they score a point is in touching upon human values that our film fails to do. Why Charlie Chaplin films are crossover films? When we try to emphasise content, we make it's a 60-ish (60s) kind of a film. Though `Black' was a wonderful film the Oscar jury rejected it on the grounds of it being a copy of `The Miracles'? A film like `Paheli' may at the most win a costume award," views Sharmila.
As for Goa being an inappropriate venue for IFFI, Sharmila holds that it is only the second year and one must not expect miracles. "In metropolitan cities like Delhi, problems are more in terms of traffic, infrastructure, availability of the passes and so on. These are the same problems as Goa had this time. I have met people who found it excellent but frankly I didn't meet any one from the international section else I would have had a better idea," she admits.
That is for the festivals. As an actress, she has chosen an excellent film to be part of. A film that is country and culture-specific yet has an international appeal; Aparna Sen's "The Jewellery Box". The film is based on Bangladesh's freedom struggle. "It is about three generation of women, what jewellery means to them and how jewellery forms an integral part of their lives for different reasons. I portray the first generation for whom jewellery is symbolic of pride, strength and respect. I have a better negotiating power if I am an owner of many jewels. For second generation played by Konkona Sen, it is an expression of youth, beauty and freedom and for the third generation played by Soha, it is all about economics, finances, and investment." The film is ready to go on the floor in January.
"Initially Aparna was making it in Bengali now she has decided to do it in Hindi. I believe that Bengal touch as shari pora, khawa dawa (wearing sari, dining habits) could have been so beautifully depicted in Bengali might lose some of its charm in Hindi as it will be like transferring perfume from one bottle to another where some fragrance is bound to be lost." The film is a comedy, she asserts, and not a satire.
From jewellery to her chair at the Censor Board - some sensitive people still lament the presence of soft porn in the form private album songs on the idiot box. Sharmila suggests a people's movement and paid channel as solutions instead of waiting for the Government to do something.
"Government takes a lot of time in implementing a law. The Censor guidelines are old but amendments are subject to everyone's approval. Instead the civil society must take up cudgels. Just go collectively to your cable operator for a month and tell him you don't want this porn on your TV. Go to the police, and see the results for yourself."
For now she is understanding the responsibilities as the Goodwill Ambassador and attempting to prioritise her domestic goals. "Family matters most. If I had been absolutely free of its responsibilities, you would have seen me wearing more hats. I am happy I have the best of both lives," she flashes that trademark dimpled style.
And one doesn't fail to notice "a daily rigorous workout of one-and-a-half hours" that graces her with timeless charm!
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